Thursday, May 11, 2017

The Duchess of Cambridge Visits Luxembourg

All photos: Luxemburger Wort / Wort.lu

The Duchess of Cambridge paid a visit to Luxembourg today with the usual fanfare of a British royal going anywhere - and members of the Grand Ducal Family were along for the ride. The visit took place at the request of the British government with the official reason being the commemoration of the 1867 Treaty of London and to celebrate the cultural and historic ties between the United Kingdom and Luxembourg.

The Duchess arrived in Luxembourg in the early afternoon and the first item on her agenda was a visit to the Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean (MUDAM). She was accompanied by Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie in her function as president of the MUDAM. Together the royal ladies viewed the current exhibition featuring works by British artists Tony Cragg & Darren Almond.

After a solo visit to the Place Clairefontaine where she attended a cycling themed festival and met Luxembourgish cycling heroes of the past, more recent past and possibly future, the Duchess of Cambridge was received by Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie as well as Princess Alexandra at the palais for a short exchange.

Then came the reason for Catherine's visit: The official commemoration of the 1867 Treaty of London, which confirmed Luxembourg’s independence and neutrality. After the audience at the Grand Duke's official residence, the Hereditary Grand Duke and Hereditary Grand Duchess and their the royal guest made their way to the Lëtzebuerg City Museum, where a new collection was unveiled. Together they were given a guided tour of "The Luxembourg Story" about the thousand-year history of the city. They were also joined by delegates from other countries who signed the 1867 Treaty of London for the visit

After stopping at the Chemin de la Corniche to get a stunning view of the Alzette valley from "the most beautiful balcony of Europe", the royal trio made their way to the Musée Dräi Eechelen for the main event of the day. The museum is housed at Fort Thüngen, most of which was demolished after the 1867 Treaty apart from its foundations and three towers. (Fun fact: Dräi Eechelen means “The Three Acorns” and refers to the acorn-shaped sculptures on each tower.) Together with Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, the Duchess of Cambridge and the hereditary grand ducal couple toured the exhibition "'Luxembourg 1867 – Open City", which gives an insight into how the dismantling of Luxembourg’s fortifications laid the foundation for the transformation of Luxembourg into an open and outward-looking country.

For more pictures and videos, simply have a look at any Luxembourgish or British media website, like Wort, Tageblatt or RTL.